Historic workforce study reveals new information about the social work profession
“When we began making plans for the next analysis of social work practice — as we are required to do as part of developing the competence assessments for social work licensing — we realized we had an opportunity to provide a valuable contribution to the entire social work profession,” said Lavina Harless, LCSW, ASWB’s senior director of examination services. “We decided to expand on everything about the practice analysis survey: the number of respondents, its outreach and inclusion, and the demographic questionnaire portion.”
ASWB reenvisioned its practice analysis as the Social Work Census, a two-part online survey with the goal of finding out who social workers are and what they do. “By conducting this historic, large-scale workforce study of social workers,” Harless said, “we hoped to uncover useful data about social workers to inform the social work profession.”
The workforce study section of the Census, called the 2024 Social Work Workforce Survey, was developed with Joy Kim, Ph.D., MSW, of the School of Social Work at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Along with ASWB and the Social Work Workforce Coalition, Kim developed a set of workforce questions designed to align with other datasets and elicit information about the educational, licensing, career, and demographic backgrounds of the largest sample of social workers ever surveyed.
“I was energized by the prospect of gathering this important data,” said Kim. “Unlike in other professions, knowledge of the social work workforce was largely incomplete. Because of this work, we now have answers to some of the most pressing questions, including those related to the labor market value of social work credentials like a social work degree and a social work license.”
Kim used the data that ASWB and its research partners at the Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO) collected through the Social Work Census, along with data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Surveys. She produced four separate, complementary reports along with an overview of the entire series, highlighted below.
ASWB is continuing to invest in our profession by presenting the regulatory community, social workers, and our peers across the profession with this historic research.
- Report 1
The Self-Identified Social Work Workforce: Analyses of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Surveys
- Uses the American Community Survey and the Current Population Survey, as well as data collected from regulatory boards, to provide national estimates of the workforce size and composition in terms of education level and license status
- Reviews the existing literature and identifies critical gaps in our understanding of the workforce, such as differences in its practices and financial characteristics based on professional credentials and practice categories
- Report 2
The Licensed Social Work Workforce
- Describes the characteristics of the licensed social work workforce by practice category, drawn from a sample of 39,456 licensed social workers who participated in the workforce study section of the Social Work Census
- Estimates that there were approximately 463,000 licensed social workers in 2024, comprising 59% Clinical, 30% Masters, 4.53% Advanced Generalist, and 6.45% Bachelors social workers
- Presents that the median earnings of full-time year-round working licensed social workers were $58,710 for Bachelors, $67,980 for Masters, $76,220 for Advanced Generalist, and $82,400 for Clinical social workers in 2024
- Demonstrates that the licensed workforce has become racially and ethnically more diverse over the past two decades
- Clarifies the labor market values of social work degrees and licensure
- Sheds light on the high cost of a social work degree, finding that most with an MSW owe more than $50,000 in student debt
- Report 3
The Nonlicensed Social Work Workforce
- Examines the characteristics of the nonlicensed social work workforce, using a sample of 1,625 respondents without licenses who completed the workforce study section of the Social Work Census
- Finds that most nonlicensed social workers are bachelor’s-level social workers who often work in individual and family services settings that prefer a social work degree but do not require licensure
- Suggests that MSWs and licensure are important stepping stones for the career development of many nonlicensed social workers
- Finds that most intended to pursue a social work license, with around a third in the licensing process at the time of the survey
- Report 4
Registered Social Workers and Social Service Workers in Canada
- Shifts focus to Canadian practice, drawing on a sample of 3,437 social workers
- Provides, for the first time in history, a detailed and comprehensive look into the characteristics of the Canadian social work workforce by practice category
- Shows that the overwhelming majority reported that their positions required both a social work degree and registration, reinforcing the labor market values of social work education and regulation in Canada
- Also published in Canadian French
- Executive summary
An Overview of the 2024 Social Work Workforce Study Series: A Synthesis for Regulators
- Offers key takeaways from the major findings and contributions of the workforce study for regulators
- Calls for the establishment of a national registry of social workers
As a group, the reports break ground in their detailed description of the social work workforce while also helping to uncover areas for future study. Kim said that a national data collection system, such as that in the nursing profession, is an important next step. The workforce study findings “justify why the profession needs to conduct a national workforce survey to collect accurate and up-to-date workforce information.” She believes this information is critical for professional identity, public perception of social work, professional advocacy, and workforce development efforts.
ASWB CEO Stacey Hardy-Chandler, Ph.D., J.D., LCSW, PGDip, agrees that the workforce study is groundbreaking. “We at ASWB know that the workforce study findings of the Social Work Census will be integral to the entire social work community’s advocacy, research, and strategies moving forward,” she said. “The results offer substantial evidence to inform advocates, policymakers, and regulators as they work together to make important decisions about the future of social work. I am proud and honored that ASWB is continuing to invest in our profession by presenting the regulatory community, social workers, and our peers across the profession with this historic research.”
Download the workforce study reports